Collagen Alignment via Electro-Compaction for Biofabrication Applications: A Review

As the most prevalent structural protein in the extracellular matrix, collagen has been extensively investigated for biofabrication-based applications. However, its utilisation has been impeded due to a lack of sufficient mechanical toughness and the inability of the scaffold to mimic complex natura...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polymers 2022-10, Vol.14 (20), p.4270
Main Authors: Carr, Benjamin P, Chen, Zhi, Chung, Johnson H Y, Wallace, Gordon G
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alignment
Bioengineering
Biomimetics
Blood vessels
Chemical bonds
Collagen
Crosslinked polymers
Crosslinking
Cytotoxicity
Enzymes
Magnetic fields
Mechanical properties
Polypeptides
Review
Scaffolds
Tendons
Tensile strength
Vitamin B
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:As the most prevalent structural protein in the extracellular matrix, collagen has been extensively investigated for biofabrication-based applications. However, its utilisation has been impeded due to a lack of sufficient mechanical toughness and the inability of the scaffold to mimic complex natural tissues. The anisotropic alignment of collagen fibres has been proven to be an effective method to enhance its overall mechanical properties and produce biomimetic scaffolds. This review introduces the complicated scenario of collagen structure, fibril arrangement, type, function, and in addition, distribution within the body for the enhancement of collagen-based scaffolds. We describe and compare existing approaches for the alignment of collagen with a sharper focus on electro-compaction. Additionally, various effective processes to further enhance electro-compacted collagen, such as crosslinking, the addition of filler materials, and post-alignment fabrication techniques, are discussed. Finally, current challenges and future directions for the electro-compaction of collagen are presented, providing guidance for the further development of collagenous scaffolds for bioengineering and nanotechnology.
ISSN:2073-4360
2073-4360
DOI:10.3390/polym14204270